I Lost 110 Pounds, And This is the #1 Thing That Helped Me

I am 36 years old, and I would say 27 years of my life have been spent in a battle with my weight. You name the diet—I have probably tried it… more than once and failed at it. Nothing ever came easy, nothing ever made sense. I would try something new and get bored of it—which then led to gaining even more weight.

Growing up I was made to feel bad about myself because of my weight and eating habits. I would be forced into certain diets that never made me feel good. They left me feeling either sick, starving, or extremely bloated. There was never a consistent pattern in any of the "diets" I was on. It was either eat a pound of broccoli and fish, or you can eat greasy burgers and mayo but no bun. How was any of that sustainable or going to make me be able to lose weight the healthy way? It wasn't.

All the other diets I have been on have always been about losing weight and never taught me the value of nutrition and healthy eating.

In 2018 I became the unhealthiest I've ever been. I am a wife, and a mom of two amazing boys. I would eat fast food four or five times a week and then throw out the bags to hide the evidence from my family. I had become lazy in making healthy meals that I would just throw together without thinking of nutrition. I had fallen back into so many bad habits that led to me feeling sad all day long. I hated the way I looked, how I felt, and, more importantly, the path I was heading down.

The power of portion control

November 2018 is when my life changed forever. It was when I asked for help and was introduced to The Ultimate Portion Fix program. I needed to know what people were doing to get these amazing results. I needed to know all about it—NOW!

[Editor's note: The Ultimate Portion Fix was created by Beachbody Super Trainer Autumn Calabrese, a fitness and nutrition expert and certified health and wellness coach. It's designed to teach people how to control their meal portions using color-coded containers for measuring out portions of foods that make up a meal or snack. Calabrese's system forms the basis of her book Lose Weight Like Crazy Even if You Have a Crazy Life, published by Galvanized Media, publisher of Eatthis.com.]

I jumped in. I watched all the Ultimate Portion Fix videos, read all the program materials, and used the workbooks and logbooks provided. There was no cutting out carbs or fruits like so many "diets" make you do. This made sense. There was no weighing my food or counting calories. I didn't have to give up foods that I love, I just had to pick healthier versions and proper portion sizes—something we all know but are never fully aware of not to do—until now I wish I would have known about this years ago—but what was important was that I had the tools I needed now.

The first few days I measured, and I prepared meals ahead of time. Did I have doubts? Of course! I had doubts this was going to work for me—because nothing in the past had. But I continued to measure, I continued to portion my meals and eat exactly how I was supposed to.

My cravings for sugar slowly went away and it got easier. I was learning to cook healthy meals for my family! I realized this wasn't like anything I had ever done. I was able to eat all the food I normally would, but now I was using these containers as my guide, and they taught me how to eat all over again.

Find your 'why' and lose the pounds

In one year, I lost 110 pounds following Autumn's Portion Fix program and pushing play on her workouts. I used the tools that were given to me and followed them. There were no shortcuts, there was no easy way out. I knew I needed to change my old habits to see new results—long-lasting results.

When it got hard, I would remember her talking about our "whys." Why was I doing this? To lose weight and be healthy. Why did I NEED to do this? Because I didn't want to die young. I wanted to grow old with my husband and watch my boys grow up. Those answers are ALWAYS in the back of my head.

My boys watch me push play to Autumn's workout programs every day and see me have fun doing it! I can make them delicious, healthy meals, and what is even more amazing is that they are aware of making healthy choices. They used to watch me sit around on a couch all day feeling sad and eating junk food. Today, they have the best version of me and it's all because of those 6 amazing containers.

(Adapted from Lose Weight Like Crazy Even If You Have a Crazy Life!)

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